Pensioners confused about benefits

10 Apr 03
Weaknesses in the Department for Work and Pensions' computer system hamper efforts to increase the take-up of benefits among elderly people, the Public Accounts Committee has said. Between £930m and £1.86bn of the main benefits available is unclaimed.

11 April 2003

Weaknesses in the Department for Work and Pensions' computer system hamper efforts to increase the take-up of benefits among elderly people, the Public Accounts Committee has said.

Between £930m and £1.86bn of the main benefits available is unclaimed, the committee found. Committee chair Edward Leigh said: 'The lamentable state of affairs where vulnerable pensioners are confused about the support they are entitled to must be addressed.'

The MPs said the department's 2006 target date for improvements to its IT systems 'is nearing without clear evidence of progress'.

In a report, Tackling pensioner poverty, published on April 9, the committee found that up to 2.4 million pensioners were failing to claim some or all of income support, minimum income guarantee and housing and council tax benefits.

They noted that the benefit administration systems in central and local government had grown separately. The MPs said: 'Confusion about the system and difficulties in understanding its complexity are major barriers to take-up.'

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